Shuttlers Gear up for Asian Badminton Championship

Indonesia will rely on young players in its bid to regain its pride at the 150,000 U.S. dollars JVC Asian Badminton Championship here this week, according to the Jakarta Post Monday.

There will be 150 shuttlers from 18 countries and areas participating in the championship, to be played at the Senayan Indoor Stadium starting on Wednesday.

Indonesia's Olympic men's doubles gold medalists Candra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan will split.

Candra will team up with Antonius Irianto, with a possible showdown against top seeds Chong Tan Fook/Lee Wan Wah of Malaysia standing between them and the final berth.

Tony will have former Olympic champion Rexy Mainaky on his side. The pair are due to meet third seeds Ma Che Kong/Yau Kwon Yuen from Hong Kong, China, in the quarterfinals and if they pass the test they could face another seeded pair Kittipon Kitikul/Khunakorn Sudhisodhi of Thailand in the semifinals.

"The separation enables us to play more relaxed because we don't have to worry about the results or world rankings," Candra said.

A defeat in the tournament may cost Candra and Tony their world number one ranking.

Indonesia's will rely on young players in the men's singles as Hendrawan, the world number one, is absent after losing in the Danish Open.

Taufik Hidayat will be the backbone of the national men's singles team together with Marleve Mainaky, Jefer Rosobin, Rony Agustinus, Yudi Suprayogi and Arief Rasidi.

In the women's singles, Indonesia will be represented by second seed Lidya Djaelawidjaja, Cindana Hartono, Ellen Angelina and Yuli Marfuah. Lidya is tipped to reach the final to meet top seed Lee Kyung-won of South Korea.

Indonesia's best women's doubles team of Etty Tanri and Cyntia Tuwankotta are the top seeds. The new pair of Deyana Lomban/Carmelita is expected to meet second seeds Lee Hyo Jung/Yim Kyung Jin from South Korea in the semifinals.

Meanwhile, the world mixed double team No. 1 Minarti Timur/Tri Kusharyanto will also be separated, so the top seed will be Wahyu Agung/Emma Ermawati. Minarti will have Bambang Suprianto as her new partner.



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